First Matters First Lutheran Church - Clover...
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found them “peeking out” from underneath the neigh- bor’s deck—they were in sad shape. They’ve been with us ever since. Sadly we lost Simon last summer to pan- creatic cancer. He is espe- cially missed by Fluffy and me. It’s been said that “Dogs have people. Cats have staff.” Certainly we are no exception. Although it is my joy to be with you, I will greatly miss the ‘joys’ of my life. So if I’m a little moody at times, please share your joy with me. I am delighted to be among you, and looking forward to knowing you. Together we will do the ministry that Christ calls us to do at First Lutheran ! I hope to see and meet you soon. My love to you in Christ, Pastor Jerry From the Pastor live in Atlanta, GA. They hope to visit Manhattan soon. We are hoping to be settled in our Manhattan home by then. We have a chocolate lab, Hershey Bear, a rescue pup who came to us about six years ago. He was one day from death row, and is a source of great love for us. Our youngest pup, Chaco Beauregard, rescued me 4 days after I moved to New Mexico. He was originally dropped off outside the Ani- mal Shelter in Dona Ana County, NM. He was origi- nally adopted by a GI, who was deployed a day later. He returned the little black puppy while I was at the Shelter helping a neighbor with her ‘missing cat re- port.’ Beau saw me, jumped out of the soldier’s hands, right into my arms at the shelter. The rest is history. He is our little black puppy, even though he is now taller than big brother Hershey Bear and weighs about 100 pounds. We have two grand dogs: Casey’s dog Samson, an- other rescue pup who is a tad bit older than Hershey. The lady in our life is Chey- enne, Erin’s rescue pup who lives with her, but is still my “baby gurl.” She loves to visit Pappie! We had two cats. Simon, who was my “little buddy,” and Ophelia (we call her Fluffy). They were just- weaned kittens we rescued when cleaning out my parent’s home in Ohio about eight years ago. Ann Inside this issue: From the Pastor 1 Lent in the Library 2 Lamb of God ECM 2 Go and Serve 2 Forty Days 3 January Reports 3 Lutheran Colleges 3 Birthdays 3 First Lutheran Church MARCH 2016 First Matters “Happiness is a warm puppy,” Charles Schultz Pastor Jerry Reynolds Dear Friends and disciples of First Lutheran Church, As St. Paul tells us, “…you are not lacking in any spir- itual gift…!” I am happy to be among you as we learn to share more of our gifts of time, talent and treasure in Christ’s ministry at this place. Our God is a God of Abundance! I have temporarily rented an apartment here in Man- hattan. Ann will re-join me after we sell our home in New Mexico. My Sabbath is on Monday, I am available during regular office hours throughout the week. You may schedule a time to meet with me, or through Kelly in the office. I want to take a moment to share more about me and my family with you. My wife, Ann, and I were married 35 years in De- cember. You will hear me say, “Joy came into my life when I met Ann, and my life has been a joy ever since.” Our oldest daughter Erin, lives in Jacksonville, FL. Kelly and Casey continue to
Transcript of First Matters First Lutheran Church - Clover...
found them “peeking out”
from underneath the neigh-
bor’s deck—they were in sad
shape. They’ve been with us
ever since. Sadly we lost
Simon last summer to pan-
creatic cancer. He is espe-
cially missed by Fluffy and
me.
It’s been said that “Dogs
have people. Cats have
staff.” Certainly we are no
exception.
Although it is my joy to be
with you, I will greatly miss
the ‘joys’ of my life. So if I’m
a little moody at times,
please share your joy with
me.
I am delighted to be among
you, and looking forward to
knowing you. Together we
will do the ministry that
Christ calls us to do at First
Lutheran ! I hope to see and
meet you soon.
My love to you in Christ,
Pastor Jerry
From the Pastor live in Atlanta, GA. They
hope to visit Manhattan
soon. We are hoping to be
settled in our Manhattan
home by then.
We have a chocolate lab,
Hershey Bear, a rescue pup
who came to us about six
years ago. He was one day
from death row, and is a
source of great love for us.
Our youngest pup, Chaco
Beauregard, rescued me 4
days after I moved to New
Mexico. He was originally
dropped off outside the Ani-
mal Shelter in Dona Ana
County, NM. He was origi-
nally adopted by a GI, who
was deployed a day later.
He returned the little black
puppy while I was at the
Shelter helping a neighbor
with her ‘missing cat re-
port.’ Beau saw me, jumped
out of the soldier’s hands,
right into my arms at the
shelter. The rest is history.
He is our little black puppy,
even though he is now taller
than big brother Hershey
Bear and weighs about 100
pounds.
We have two grand dogs:
Casey’s dog Samson, an-
other rescue pup who is a
tad bit older than Hershey.
The lady in our life is Chey-
enne, Erin’s rescue pup
who lives with her, but is
still my “baby gurl.” She
loves to visit Pappie!
We had two cats. Simon,
who was my “little buddy,”
and Ophelia (we call her
Fluffy). They were just-
weaned kittens we rescued
when cleaning out my
parent’s home in Ohio
about eight years ago. Ann
Inside this issue:
From the Pastor 1
Lent in the Library 2
Lamb of God ECM 2
Go and Serve 2
Forty Days 3
January Reports 3
Lutheran Colleges 3
Birthdays 3
First Lutheran Church
MARCH 2016 First Matters
“Happiness
is a warm
puppy,”
Charles
Schultz
Pastor Jerry Reynolds
Dear Friends and disciples
of First Lutheran Church,
As St. Paul tells us, “…you
are not lacking in any spir-
itual gift…!”
I am happy to be among
you as we learn to share
more of our gifts of time,
talent and treasure in
Christ’s ministry at this
place. Our God is a God of
Abundance!
I have temporarily rented
an apartment here in Man-
hattan. Ann will re-join me
after we sell our home in
New Mexico. My Sabbath is
on Monday, I am available
during regular office hours
throughout the week. You
may schedule a time to
meet with me, or through
Kelly in the office.
I want to take a moment to
share more about me and
my family with you.
My wife, Ann, and I were
married 35 years in De-
cember. You will hear me
say, “Joy came into my life
when I met Ann, and my life
has been a joy ever since.”
Our oldest daughter Erin,
lives in Jacksonville, FL.
Kelly and Casey continue to
2
Lent in the Library
I Corinthians 13:4-7 lays out the
attributes of love, stating “Love is
patient; love is kind; love is not envi-
ous or boastful or arrogant or rude,
it does not insist on its own way; it is
not irritable or resentful; it does not
rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoice in
the truth. It bears all things, be-
lieves all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.” The idea of love
is such a BIG thing to think about.
The Preschoolers at Lamb of God
have BIG thoughts on all of the won-
derful things this little word can
mean.
“I love my mommy and
I love my daddy.”
“I know my mommy loves me
because she gives me a bath.”
This is the time and season when
we often find ourselves reflecting on
love. Here at Lamb of God we are
Karen Jerabek
Librarian
If Lent inspires you to add
something more to your devo-
tional life, look for three new
books on the Library bookshelf
in the connecting hallway. Two -
All Shall Be Well and Bread and
Wine –are collections of writ-
ings by various familiar authors.
Meditations on the Cross is the
work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Each of these books is just right
to spend a few minutes with in
a quiet corner of the church.
Or, as with any of the library
books, you may check one out
by leaving the signed card in
the back of the book on the
bottom of the bookshelf.
Other books that lend them-
selves to Lenten reflection will
come downstairs from the main
library to the bookshelf too.
However, if you have never
been up to the Library on the
top floor of the church, make it
a point to do that sometime,
and spend a while looking
around. There are ‘classics’,
quality reference materials, a
wide variety of inspirational ti-
tles, things to help in the midst
of life challenges, various devo-
tionals, and many other books
patiently waiting for you. New
books show up on the book-
shelf downstairs periodically, so
stop by now and then to see
what’s there too. We do our
best to come up with
‘something for everyone.’ If you
have particular suggestions for
things you’d like to have in the
library, please let us know.
Page 2 F IRST MATTERS
Come to me,
repentant sinners;
leave behind your
guilt and shame.
Come and know
divine compassion,
turn to me,
I call your name.
“Come to Me, All
Pilgrims Thirsty,” Verse 4
(ELW 777)
Lamb of God Early Childhood Ministry Tynisha Moore
Program Director exploring our love for books and
reading, thinking about what love is,
learning more about the love of God,
and taking the time to give thanks
for those that we love and love us.
Be a Part of the Lamb of God Ministry:
We are looking for “reading buddies”
to come in and read for 10-15 min
Monday – Friday between the hours
of 9:00 am – 10:00 am or 3:30 pm -
4:30 pm. Please see Tynisha Moore
for details.
Go and Serve Kelly Peterson
Communications Coordinator
Worship, prayer, and fellowship are vital to
the development of our faith, but service to
our community is one of the ways we share
our faith and gifts with the world. God’s work,
our hands, right?
During the season of Lent, we are encour-
aged to add a discipline in order to draw us
closer to God—give to the poor, do something
kind for your neighbor, volunteer in the com-
munity. Consider beginning here in your
church. Join a hospitality team and greet or
usher during worship services, help out at
First Suppers, volunteer in the nursery, or
serve Communion.
“Like good stewards of the manifold grace
of God, serve one another with whatever gift
each of you has received.” 1 Peter 4:10
3
Lent – here we are again – same
place, different dates. February
10th seems so early for Ash
Wednesday. Didn’t we just get
Christmas decorations put away?
The season of Lent is a time of re-
flection and soul searching, much
like Advent. Why 40 days? Forty
days is symbolic of many things in
the Bible, Moses & Elijah spent
forty days in the wilderness; Noah
had rain for forty days and nights;
the Jews wondered forty years to
the Promised Land; and Jesus fast-
ed forty days in the wilderness pri-
or to the start of his ministry. The
practice of fasting has continued
in the Christian church for centu-
ries and Lent was the time when
some early Christians dressed in
burlap and covered themselves in
ashes humbling themselves and
doing penance.
Martin Luther was very critical of
this practice and chastised his
congregation by telling them:
“What good is fasting when you
keep on fighting and quarreling…
Do you really think this will please
the Lord?” “This is the kind of fast-
Forty Days Kathryn Focke
Director of Evangelical Outreach
ing I want: free those who are
wrongly imprisoned, lighten the bur-
den of those who work for you. Let
the oppressed go free, and remove
the chains that bind people. Share
your food with the hungry and give
shelter to the homeless. Give
clothes to those who need them...”
“Only then will your light shine out
from the darkness, and the dark-
ness around you will be as bright as
noon.”
As we move forward in this season,
remember that it is not what we
give up, but what we can add in our
lives to help others. There are
many ways to connect with this
church and community to live out
the commands of Jesus to love one
another.
Page 3 F IRST MATTERS
Shoes for the FIT Closet
Food Pantry Volunteers Wrapping Angel Tree gifts
January Reports
Average Weekly Attendance
224
Income $ 42,038.53
Expenses $ 52,304.02
Budget $ 45,833.33
Income YTD $ 42,038.53
Expenses YTD $ 52,304.02
Budget YTD $ 45,833.33
Lutheran Colleges Highly Ranked
Colleges in the Lutheran tradition
were highly ranked in a national
survey of Christian colleges and
universities, taking 7 of the top 25
spots. The ranking was done by
www.collegechoice.net. All colleg-
es are affiliated with the Evangeli-
cal Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) except Valpo, which is Lu-
theran but not affiliated with any
synod. Two other ELCA schools
made the top 50, as did two Lu-
theran Church – Missouri Synod
(LCMS) schools. The top Lutheran
schools are: Valparaiso University
#1, Augsburg College #6, Pacific
Lutheran University #8, Gustavus
Adolphus College #10, Capital Uni-
versity #15, Luther College #16,
California Lutheran University
#22, and Augustana College #25.
March Birthdays (1) Paul Bode, (2) Evelyn Schoeff, Kitty Eads, Bonnie Jones, Marsha Peters, Jeanette Wagner, (3) William Gold, (4) Kay Denton, Philip Hastings, (5)
Tricia Armstrong, Michael Oetken, Jesica Hanson, Phaunel Smith, (7) Lana Copeland, Dan Lazinek, (8) Garrett Gordon, Domenic Huber, (9) Marvin
Hachmeister, Havilah Dame, Jena Williams, Avery Daniels, (10) Kristine Young, Danielle Bales, Andrew Sorenson, Logan Olson, (11) William
Titterton, Shelly Wohler, Joshua Reeves, Paul Wichmann, (12) Matthew Schindler, Belle Howard, (13) Lydia Huber, Becky Marsh, Sarah Cook,
Lynee' English, (14) Ann Schmid, Gail Hughes, (14) Alexa Berghager, (15) Ethan Bryant, (16) Howard Erickson, Shellie Wallace, Trent Dunlap,
Kelley Jones, Melissa Krumm, Grace Williams, (17) John Wear, Justin Kastanek, (18) Kathy Ballou, Laura Riley, Kateland Alvarado. Will Lazinek,
(19) Jackie Kerstetter. Nicholas Wagner. Arthur Thueme, (20) Larry Langemeier, Karen Resser, Saundra Hennigh, Scott Tollefson, Sandra Gehrt,
Jami Maike, Madalyn Morelock, (21) Elaine Gordon, Patricia Seabourn, Kelcy Wilson, Brady Sorenson, (22) Amanda Byerly, (23) Romilda Nuss, Dan
Messelt, Austin English, Athen Martinez, (24) Yeremiah Apel, Lauren Lane, (25) Marcia Quick, (26) Dwight Johnson, Gillian Armstrong, Davy
Russell, Maxwell Barth, (27) Richard Gray, (28) Dick Hayter, Carole Crumbaker, Sandy Siegle, Meagan Milliron, (29) Claudia Gordon, Jana Baker,
Amanda Esping, (30) Sandy Messelt, Alayne Novotny, Reagan Neitzel, Mia Melander, (31) John Gralow, Greg Knittel, Shawn Lane, Trisha Brown
Rev. Jerry Reynolds Pastor
Kyle Olson, AiM Director of Spiritual Growth
Kathryn Focke Director of Evangelical Outreach
Tynisha Moore Director, LOG School
Kelly Peterson Communications Coordinator
Liz Krieger Parish Coordinator
Julie Londeen Bookkeeper
"Rooted in Christ, we are growing in faith to bear fruit in the world."
Non-Profit Org
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First Lutheran Church
930 Poyntz Ave. Manhattan, KS
Phone: 785-537-8532 Fax: 785-539-3507 [email protected]
March 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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5:30pm Supper
6:30pm Worship
3
6:00pm First Suppers
4 5
5:30pm Worship
6
10:00am Worship
7 8 9
5:30pm Supper
6:30pm Worship
10
6:00pm First Suppers
11 12
5:30pm Worship
13
10:00am Worship
14 15 16
5:30pm Supper
6:30pm Worship
17
5:30pm Council
6:00pm First Suppers
18 19
5:30pm Worship
20 Palm Sunday
10:00am Worship
21 22 23
6:30pm Seder Meal
24 Maundy Thursday
6:00pm First Suppers
6:30pm Worship
25 Good Friday
12:15pm Worship
6:30pm Tenebrae
26
5:30pm Worship
27 Easter
8 & 10am Worship
28 29 30 31
6:00pm First Suppers
